The well, located offshore Gippsland Basin permit Vic/P54, was yesterday afternoon drilling ahead at a measured depth of 2910m, tracking ahead through the laterally continuous gas sands identified from the seismic amplitude data.

To date, 540m of new hole has been drilled in the horizontal section of Longtom-3.

Managing director Ian Tchacos said these “very encouraging” results boded well for Nexus’ geological interpretation of the field.

“The intersection of such a large reservoir section in this early part of the horizontal well path is a particularly positive result in terms of potential well productivity,” he said.

“We look forward to a similarly strong correlation between potential pay zones identified on seismic and the actual gas sands which we expect to intersect from the rest of the well.”

Looking ahead, the company plans to continue drilling the horizontal well to gather more information about the quality and lateral continuity of the lower gas sands of the Admiral formation.

Once drilling is complete, the well will be completed for production testing from both the upper and lower sands to confirm the productivity of the key gas zones.

Upon completion of a successful production test, the well will be suspended as a future producer.